Awareness and respect towards other religions among Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur : a survey

Abstract

After almost sixty years of independence in a multiracial, multicultural and multi-religious country, it seems Malaysians have yet to properly mature regarding the ways in which they interact with adherents of other religions. Today, we can witness the many religious issues occurring in Malaysia which illustrate the lack of understanding and tolerance of each other. It seems that religion is the cause of conflict. This research is about the diversity of religions in Malaysia which focuses on measurement and evaluation of the level of awareness of Malaysians and respect towards other religions. For the purpose of this study, the discussion revolves around IslÉm, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, and covers the Kuala Lumpur area. This research comprises library research and fieldwork and contains textual and contextual aspects. The textual aspect explores the IslÉm, Buddhist, Hindu and Christian perspectives on religious awareness and tolerance. Various secondary religious materials were used to gain insights into the teachings of various religions concerning tolerance towards others. The research does not discuss the theological aspects of any living religion in Malaysia in-depth; rather, it focuses on the human-to-human relationship in an environment of diverse religions. The contextual aspect of the research analyses the attitude of Kuala Lumpur respondents towards other religions. From a total population of 7.6 million in Kuala Lumpur, a random sample size of approximately 400 was deemed relevant for this study taken from both Muslim and non-Muslim respondents. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The result of the study found that Kuala Lumpur respondents have a high level of general knowledge about other religions (49.0%), a moderate level of observation towards adherents of other religions (69.3%), a high level of awareness towards other religions (63.2%), a high level of importance of understanding other religions (49.8%), and a moderate level of attitude towards understanding other religions (50.2%). These results show that the respondents in Kuala Lumpur are aware and do respect people of other beliefs. In fact, they have a good religious relationship with other people within their religions and outside. The majority of the respondents also agreed that lacking understanding of other religions causes religious intolerance. However, the results also found that, even though the attitude and understanding of the respondents towards other religions are considered high, they do not really interfere, touch upon, or discuss openly about religion in their social interaction.